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<title>The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ - Keeping your Debian system up-to-date</title>

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<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html" rel="chapter" title="1 Definitions and overview">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html" rel="chapter" title="2 Getting and installing Debian GNU/Linux">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="3 Choosing a Debian distribution">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html" rel="chapter" title="4 Compatibility issues">
<link href="ch-software.en.html" rel="chapter" title="5 Software available in the Debian system">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html" rel="chapter" title="6 The Debian FTP archives">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html" rel="chapter" title="7 Basics of the Debian package management system">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html" rel="chapter" title="8 The Debian package management tools">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html" rel="chapter" title="9 Keeping your Debian system up-to-date">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html" rel="chapter" title="10 Debian and the kernel">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="11 Customizing your installation of Debian GNU/Linux">
<link href="ch-support.en.html" rel="chapter" title="12 Getting support for Debian GNU/Linux">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="13 Contributing to the Debian Project">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html" rel="chapter" title="14 Redistributing Debian GNU/Linux in a commercial product">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html" rel="chapter" title="15 Changes expected in the next major release of Debian">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html" rel="chapter" title="16 General information about the FAQ">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-whatisfaq" rel="section" title="1.1 What is this FAQ?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-whatisdebian" rel="section" title="1.2 What is Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-linux" rel="section" title="1.3 OK, now I know what Debian is... what is Linux?!">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-non-linux" rel="section" title="1.4 Does Debian just do GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-difference" rel="section" title="1.5 What is the difference between Debian GNU/Linux and other Linux distributions? Why should I choose Debian over some other distribution?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-gnu" rel="section" title="1.6 How does the Debian project fit in or compare with the Free Software Foundation's GNU project?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-pronunciation" rel="section" title="1.7 How does one pronounce Debian and what does this word mean?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-version" rel="section" title="2.1 What is the latest version of Debian?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-updatestable" rel="section" title="2.2 Are there package upgrades in `stable'?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-boot-floppies" rel="section" title="2.3 Where/how can I get the Debian installation disks?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-cdrom" rel="section" title="2.4 How do I install the Debian from CD-ROMs?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-cdimage-symlinks" rel="section" title="2.5 Why does the official stable released CD-ROM contain symlinks for `frozen' and `unstable'? I thought this CD contains just `stable'!">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-remoteinstall" rel="section" title="2.6 Can I get and install Debian directly from a remote Internet site?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-alternativebootinstaller" rel="section" title="2.7 Are there any alternative strategies for booting the system installer?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1" rel="section" title="3.1 Which Debian distribution (stable/testing/unstable) is better for me?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2" rel="section" title="3.2 But what about Knoppix, Linex, Ubuntu, and others?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-arches" rel="section" title="4.1 On what hardware architectures/systems does Debian GNU/Linux run?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-kernels" rel="section" title="4.2 What kernels does Debian GNU/Linux run?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherdistribs" rel="section" title="4.3 How compatible is Debian with other distributions of Linux?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherunices" rel="section" title="4.4 How source code compatible is Debian with other Unix systems?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherpackages" rel="section" title="4.5 Can I use Debian packages (&quot;.deb&quot; files) on my Red Hat/Slackware/... Linux system? Can I use Red Hat packages (&quot;.rpm&quot; files) on my Debian GNU/Linux system?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-non-debian-programs" rel="section" title="4.6 How should I install a non-Debian program?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-termcap" rel="section" title="4.7 Why can't I compile programs that require libtermcap?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-accelx" rel="section" title="4.8 Why can't I install AccelX?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-apps" rel="section" title="5.1 What types of applications and development software are available for Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-softwareauthors" rel="section" title="5.2 Who wrote all that software?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-pkglist" rel="section" title="5.3 How can I get a current list of programs that have been packaged for Debian?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-buildenv" rel="section" title="5.4 How can I install a developer's environment to build packages?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-missing" rel="section" title="5.5 What is missing from Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-no-devs" rel="section" title="5.6 Why do I get &quot;ld: cannot find -lfoo&quot; messages when compiling programs? Why aren't there any libfoo.so files in Debian library packages?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-java" rel="section" title="5.7 (How) Does Debian support Java?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-isitdebian" rel="section" title="5.8 How can I check that I am using a Debian system, and what version is it?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-nonenglish" rel="section" title="5.9 How does Debian support non-English languages?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-pine" rel="section" title="5.10 Where is pine?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-qmail" rel="section" title="5.11 Where is qmail/ezmlm/djbdns?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-flash" rel="section" title="5.12 Where is a player for Flash (SWF)?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-googleearth" rel="section" title="5.13 Where is Google Earth?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-voip" rel="section" title="5.14 Where is VoIP software?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-nonfreewireless" rel="section" title="5.15 I have a wireless network card which doesn't work with Linux. What should I do?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-dists" rel="section" title="6.1 How many Debian distributions are there?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-codenames" rel="section" title="6.2 What are all those names like etch, lenny, etc.?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-sid" rel="section" title="6.3 What about &quot;sid&quot;?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-stable" rel="section" title="6.4 What does the stable directory contain?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-testing" rel="section" title="6.5 What does the testing distribution contain?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-unstable" rel="section" title="6.6 What does the unstable distribution contain?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-dirtree" rel="section" title="6.7 What are all those directories at the Debian FTP archives?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-archsections" rel="section" title="6.8 What are all those directories inside dists/stable/main?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-source" rel="section" title="6.9 Where is the source code?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-pools" rel="section" title="6.10 What's in the pool directory?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-incoming" rel="section" title="6.11 What is &quot;incoming&quot;?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-ownrepository" rel="section" title="6.12 How do I set up my own apt-able repository?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-package" rel="section" title="7.1 What is a Debian package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-deb-format" rel="section" title="7.2 What is the format of a Debian binary package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pkgname" rel="section" title="7.3 Why are Debian package file names so long?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-controlfile" rel="section" title="7.4 What is a Debian control file?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-conffile" rel="section" title="7.5 What is a Debian conffile?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-maintscripts" rel="section" title="7.6 What is a Debian preinst, postinst, prerm, and postrm script?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-priority" rel="section" title="7.7 What is an Essential, Required, Important, Standard, Optional, or Extra package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-virtual" rel="section" title="7.8 What is a Virtual Package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-depends" rel="section" title="7.9 What is meant by saying that a package Depends, Recommends, Suggests, Conflicts, Replaces, Breaks or Provides another package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pre-depends" rel="section" title="7.10 What is meant by Pre-Depends?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pkgstatus" rel="section" title="7.11 What is meant by unknown, install, remove, purge and hold in the package status?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-puttingonhold" rel="section" title="7.12 How do I put a package on hold?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-sourcepkgs" rel="section" title="7.13 How do I install a source package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-sourcebuild" rel="section" title="7.14 How do I build binary packages from a source package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-creatingdebs" rel="section" title="7.15 How do I create Debian packages myself?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-pkgprogs" rel="section" title="8.1 What programs does Debian provide for managing its packages?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-updaterunning" rel="section" title="8.2 Debian claims to be able to update a running program; how is this accomplished?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-whatpackages" rel="section" title="8.3 How can I tell what packages are already installed on a Debian system?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-listfiles" rel="section" title="8.4 How to display the files of a package installed?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-filesearch" rel="section" title="8.5 How can I find out what package produced a particular file?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-datapackages" rel="section" title="8.6 Why doesn't get `foo-data' removed when I uninstall `foo'? How do I make sure old unused library-packages get purged?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-howtocurrent" rel="section" title="9.1 How can I keep my Debian system current?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-upgradesingle" rel="section" title="9.2 Must I go into single user mode in order to upgrade a package?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-savedebs" rel="section" title="9.3 Do I have to keep all those .deb archive files on my disk?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-keepingalog" rel="section" title="9.4 How can I keep a log of the packages I added to the system? I'd like to know when which package upgrades and removals have occured!">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-autoupdate" rel="section" title="9.5 Can I automatically update the system?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-aptproxy" rel="section" title="9.6 I have several machines how can I download the updates only one time?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-non-debian-kernel" rel="section" title="10.1 Can I install and compile a kernel without some Debian-specific tweaking?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-customkernel" rel="section" title="10.2 What tools does Debian provide to build custom kernels?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-custombootdisk" rel="section" title="10.3 How can I make a custom boot floppy?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-modules" rel="section" title="10.4 What special provisions does Debian provide to deal with modules?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-removeoldkernel" rel="section" title="10.5 Can I safely de-install an old kernel package, and if so, how?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-papersize" rel="section" title="11.1 How can I ensure that all programs use the same paper size?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-hardwareaccess" rel="section" title="11.2 How can I provide access to hardware peripherals, without compromising security?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-consolefont" rel="section" title="11.3 How do I load a console font on startup the Debian way?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-appdefaults" rel="section" title="11.4 How can I configure an X11 program's application defaults?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-booting" rel="section" title="11.5 Every distribution seems to have a different boot-up method. Tell me about Debian's.">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-custombootscripts" rel="section" title="11.6 What other facilities are provided to customize the boot process besides rc.local?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-interconffiles" rel="section" title="11.7 How does the package management system deal with packages that contain configuration files for other packages?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-divert" rel="section" title="11.8 How do I override a file installed by a package, so that a different version can be used instead?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-localpackages" rel="section" title="11.9 How can I have my locally-built package included in the list of available packages that the package management system knows about?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-diverse" rel="section" title="11.10 Some users like mawk, others like gawk; some like vim, others like elvis; some like trn, others like tin; how does Debian support diversity?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-debiandocs" rel="section" title="12.1 What other documentation exists on and for a Debian system?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-onlineresources" rel="section" title="12.2 Are there any on-line resources for discussing Debian?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-searchtools" rel="section" title="12.3 Is there a quick way to search for information on Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-buglogs" rel="section" title="12.4 Are there logs of known bugs?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-bugreport" rel="section" title="12.5 How do I report a bug in Debian?">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-contrib" rel="section" title="13.1 How can I become a Debian software developer?">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-contribresources" rel="section" title="13.2 How can I contribute resources to the Debian project?">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-supportingorganizations" rel="section" title="13.3 How can I contribute financially to the Debian project?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-sellcds" rel="section" title="14.1 Can I make and sell Debian CDs?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-packagednonfree" rel="section" title="14.2 Can Debian be packaged with non-free software?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-childistro" rel="section" title="14.3 I am making a special Linux distribution for a &quot;vertical market&quot;. Can I use Debian GNU/Linux for the guts of a Linux system and add my own applications on top of it?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-commercialdebs" rel="section" title="14.4 Can I put my commercial program in a Debian &quot;package&quot; so that it installs effortlessly on any Debian system?">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-hardening" rel="section" title="15.1 Hardening the system">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-i18n" rel="section" title="15.2 Extended support for non-English users">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-dependencybasedboot" rel="section" title="15.3 Faster booting: Dependency based boot sequence">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-di" rel="section" title="15.4 Improvements in the Debian Installer">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-morearches" rel="section" title="15.5 More architectures">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-morekernels" rel="section" title="15.6 More kernels">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors" rel="section" title="16.1 Authors">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-feedback" rel="section" title="16.2 Feedback">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-latest" rel="section" title="16.3 Availability">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-docformat" rel="section" title="16.4 Document format">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.1" rel="subsection" title="3.1.1 You asked me to install stable, but in stable so and so hardware is not detected/working. What should I do?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.2" rel="subsection" title="3.1.2 Will there be different versions of packages in different distributions?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.3" rel="subsection" title="3.1.3 The stable distributions really contains outdated packages. Just look at Kde, Gnome, Xorg or even the kernel. They are very old. Why is it so?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.4" rel="subsection" title="3.1.4 If I were to decide to change to another distribution, Can I do that?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.5" rel="subsection" title="3.1.5 Could you tell me whether to install stable, testing or unstable?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.6" rel="subsection" title="3.1.6 You are talking about testing being broken. What do you mean by that?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.7" rel="subsection" title="3.1.7 Why is it that testing could be broken for months? Won't the fixes introduced in unstable flow directly down into testing?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.8" rel="subsection" title="3.1.8 From an administrator's point of view, Which distribution requires more attention?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.9" rel="subsection" title="3.1.9 What happens when a new release is made?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.10" rel="subsection" title="3.1.10 I have a working Desktop/cluster with Debian installed. How do I know which distribution I am running?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.11" rel="subsection" title="3.1.11 I am currently tracking stable. Can I change to testing or unstable? If so, How?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.12" rel="subsection" title="3.1.12 I am currently tracking testing (stretch). What will happen when a release is made? Will I still be tracking testing or will my machine be running the new stable distribution?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.13" rel="subsection" title="3.1.13 I am still confused. What did you say I should install?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.1" rel="subsection" title="3.2.1 I know that Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... is Debian-based. So after installing it on the hard disk, can I use 'apt' package tools on it?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.2" rel="subsection" title="3.2.2 I installed Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... on my hard disk. Now I have a problem. What should I do?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.3" rel="subsection" title="3.2.3 I'm using Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... and now I want to use Debian. How do I migrate?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-oldcodenames" rel="subsection" title="6.2.1 Which other codenames have been used in the past?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-sourceforcodenames" rel="subsection" title="6.2.2 Where do these codenames come from?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-frozen" rel="subsection" title="6.5.1 What about &quot;testing&quot;? How is it `frozen'?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg" rel="subsection" title="8.1.1 dpkg">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-apt-get" rel="subsection" title="8.1.2 APT">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-aptitude" rel="subsection" title="8.1.3 aptitude">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-synaptic" rel="subsection" title="8.1.4 synaptic">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-tasksel" rel="subsection" title="8.1.5 tasksel">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg-extra" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6 Other package management tools">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dselect" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6.1 dselect">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg-deb" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6.2 dpkg-deb">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg-split" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6.3 dpkg-split">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-aptitude-upgrade" rel="subsection" title="9.1.1 aptitude">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-apt" rel="subsection" title="9.1.2 apt-get, dselect and apt-cdrom">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-mirror" rel="subsection" title="9.1.3 mirror">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-dpkg-mountable" rel="subsection" title="9.1.4 dpkg-mountable">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.1" rel="subsection" title="12.2.1 Mailing lists">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-mailinglistconduct" rel="subsection" title="12.2.1.1 What is the code of conduct for the mailing lists?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.2" rel="subsection" title="12.2.2 Web forums">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.3" rel="subsection" title="12.2.3 Wiki">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.4" rel="subsection" title="12.2.4 Maintainers">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.5" rel="subsection" title="12.2.5 Usenet newsgroups">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-SPI" rel="subsection" title="13.3.1 Software in the Public Interest">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-TrustedOrgs" rel="subsection" title="13.3.2 Other organizations">

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<p>
[ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">previous</a> ]
[ <a href="index.en.html#contents">Contents</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-basic_defs.en.html">1</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">2</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-choosing.en.html">3</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">4</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-software.en.html">5</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-ftparchives.en.html">6</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">7</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">8</a> ]
[ 9 ]
[ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">10</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">11</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-support.en.html">12</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-contributing.en.html">13</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-redistrib.en.html">14</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-nexttime.en.html">15</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html">16</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">next</a> ]
</p>

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<h1>
The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
<br>Chapter 9 - Keeping your Debian system up-to-date
</h1>

<hr>

<p>
A Debian goal is to provide a consistent upgrade path and a secure upgrade
process.  We always do our best to make upgrading to new releases a smooth
procedure.  In case there's some important note to add to the upgrade process,
the packages will alert the user, and often provide a solution to a possible
problem.
</p>

<p>
You should also read the Release Notes document that describes the details of
specific upgrades.  It is available on the Debian website at <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/releasenotes">http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/releasenotes</a></code>
and is also shipped on the Debian CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-howtocurrent">9.1 How can I keep my Debian system current?</h2>

<p>
One could simply execute an anonymous ftp call to a Debian archive, then peruse
the directories until one finds the desired file, and then fetch it, and
finally install it using <samp>dpkg</samp>.  Note that <samp>dpkg</samp> will
install upgrade files in place, even on a running system.  Sometimes, a revised
package will require the installation of a newly revised version of another
package, in which case the installation will fail until/unless the other
package is installed.
</p>

<p>
Many people find this approach much too time-consuming, since Debian evolves so
quickly -- typically, a dozen or more new packages are uploaded every week.
This number is larger just before a new major release.  To deal with this
avalanche, many people prefer to use a more automated method.  Several
different packages are available for this purpose:
</p>

<hr>

<h3 id="s-aptitude-upgrade">9.1.1 aptitude</h3>

<p>
<code>aptitude</code> is the recommended package manager for Debian GNU/Linux
systems, and is described in <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-aptitude">aptitude,
Section 8.1.3</a>.
</p>

<p>
Before you can use <code>aptitude</code> to make an upgrade, you'll have to
edit the <samp>/etc/apt/sources.list</samp> file to set it up.  If you wish to
upgrade to the latest stable version of Debian, you'll probably want to use a
source like this one:
</p>

<pre>
     http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian stable main contrib non-free
</pre>

<p>
You can replace ftp.us.debian.org (the mirror in the United States) with the
name of a faster Debian mirror near you.  See the mirror list at <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/mirror/list">http://www.debian.org/mirror/list</a></code>
for more information.
</p>

<p>
More details on this can be found in the <code>sources.list(8)</code> manual
page.
</p>

<p>
To update your system in command line, run
</p>

<pre>
     aptitude update
</pre>

<p>
followed by
</p>

<pre>
     aptitude full-upgrade
</pre>

<p>
Answer any questions that might come up, and your system will be upgraded.
</p>

<p>
Note that <code>aptitude</code> is not the recommended tool for doing upgrades
from one Debian GNU/Linux release to another.  For upgrades between releases
you should read the <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/releasenotes">Release
Notes</a></code>.  This document describes in detail the recommended steps for
upgrades from previous releases as well as known issues you should consider
before upgrading.
</p>

<p>
For details, see the manual page <code>aptitude(8)</code>, and the file
<code>/usr/share/aptitude/README</code>
</p>

<hr>

<h3 id="s-apt">9.1.2 apt-get, dselect and apt-cdrom</h3>

<p>
An alternative to <code>aptitude</code> is <code>apt-get</code> which is
APT-based command-line tool (described previously in <a
href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-apt-get">APT, Section 8.1.2</a>)
</p>

<p>
Both <code>apt-get</code>, the APT-based command-line tool for handling
packages, and <code>dselect</code>, provide a simple, safe way to install and
upgrade packages.
</p>

<p>
To use <code>apt-get</code>, edit the <samp>/etc/apt/sources.list</samp> file
to set it up, just as for <a href="#s-aptitude-upgrade">aptitude, Section
9.1.1</a>.
</p>

<p>
Then run
</p>

<pre>
     apt-get update
</pre>

<p>
followed by
</p>

<pre>
     apt-get dist-upgrade
</pre>

<p>
Answer any questions that might come up, and your system will be upgraded.  See
also the <code>apt-get(8)</code> manual page, as well as <a
href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-apt-get">APT, Section 8.1.2</a>.
</p>

<p>
To use APT with <code>dselect</code>, choose the APT access method in dselect's
method selection screen (option 0) and then specify the sources that should be
used.  The configuration file is <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code>.  See also
<a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dselect">dselect, Section 8.1.6.1</a>.
</p>

<p>
If you want to use CDs to install packages, you can use <code>apt-cdrom</code>.
For details, please see the Release Notes, section &quot;Setting up for an
upgrade from a local mirror&quot;.
</p>

<p>
Please note that when you get and install the packages, you'll still have them
kept in your /var directory hierarchy.  To keep your partition from
overflowing, remember to delete extra files using <samp>apt-get clean</samp>
and <samp>apt-get autoclean</samp>, or to move them someplace else (hint: use
<code>apt-move</code>).
</p>

<hr>

<h3 id="s-mirror">9.1.3 mirror</h3>

<p>
This Perl script, and its (optional) manager program called
<code>mirror-master</code>, can be used to fetch user-specified parts of a
directory tree from a specified host <em>via</em> anonymous FTP.
</p>

<p>
<code>mirror</code> is particularly useful for downloading large volumes of
software.  After the first time files have been downloaded from a site, a file
called <samp>.mirrorinfo</samp> is stored on the local host.  Changes to the
remote file system are tracked automatically by <code>mirror</code>, which
compares this file to a similar file on the remote system and downloads only
changed files.
</p>

<p>
The <code>mirror</code> program is generally useful for updating local copies
of remote directory trees.  The files fetched need not be Debian files.  (Since
<code>mirror</code> is a Perl script, it can also run on non-Unix systems.)
Though the <code>mirror</code> program provides mechanisms for excluding files
names of which match user-specified strings, this program is most useful when
the objective is to download whole directory trees, rather than selected
packages.
</p>

<hr>

<h3 id="s-dpkg-mountable">9.1.4 dpkg-mountable</h3>

<p>
dpkg-mountable adds an access method called `mountable' to dselect's list,
which allows you to install from any file system specified in /etc/fstab.  For
example, the archive could be a normal hard disk partition or an NFS server,
which it will automatically mount and umount for you if necessary.
</p>

<p>
It also has some extra features not found in the standard dselect methods, such
as provision for a local file tree (either parallel to the main distribution or
totally separate), and only getting packages which are required, rather than
the time-consuming recursive directory scan, as well as logging of all dpkg
actions in the install method.
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-upgradesingle">9.2 Must I go into single user mode in order to upgrade a package?</h2>

<p>
No.  Packages can be upgraded in place, even in running systems.  Debian has a
<samp>start-stop-daemon</samp> program that is invoked to stop, then restart
running process if necessary during a package upgrade.
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-savedebs">9.3 Do I have to keep all those .deb archive files on my disk?</h2>

<p>
No.  If you have downloaded the files to your disk then after you have
installed the packages, you can remove them from your system, e.g.  by running
<samp>aptitude clean</samp>.
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-keepingalog">9.4 How can I keep a log of the packages I added to the system? I'd like to know when which package upgrades and removals have occured!</h2>

<p>
Passing the <samp>--log</samp>-option to <code>dpkg</code> makes
<code>dpkg</code> log status change updates and actions.  It logs both the
<code>dpkg</code>-invokation (e.g.
</p>

<pre>
     2005-12-30 18:10:33 install hello 1.3.18 2.1.1-4
</pre>

<p>
) and the results (e.g.
</p>

<pre>
     2005-12-30 18:10:35 status installed hello 2.1.1-4
</pre>

<p>
) If you'd like to log all your <code>dpkg</code> invokations (even those done
using frontends like <code>aptitude</code>), you could add
</p>

<pre>
     log /var/log/dpkg.log
</pre>

<p>
to your <code>/etc/dpkg/dpkg.cfg</code>.  Be sure the created logfile gets
rotated periodically.  If you're using <code>logrotate</code>, this can be
achieved by creating a file <code>/etc/logrotate.d/dpkg</code> with contents
</p>

<pre>
     /var/log/dpkg {
       missingok
       notifempty
     }
</pre>

<p>
More details on <code>dpkg</code> logging can be found in the
<code>dpkg(1)</code> manual page.
</p>

<p>
<code>aptitude</code> logs the package installations, removals, and upgrades
that it intends to perform to <code>/var/log/aptitude</code>.  Note that the
<em>results</em> of those actions are not recorded in this file!
</p>

<p>
Another way to record your actions is to run your package management session
within the <code>script(1)</code> program.
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-autoupdate">9.5 Can I automatically update the system?</h2>

<p>
Yes.  You can use <code>cron-apt</code>, this tool updates the system at
regular interval by using a cron job.  By default it just updates the package
list and download new packages without installing.
</p>

<p>
Note: Automatic upgrade of packages is <strong>NOT</strong> recommended in
<em>testing</em> or <em>unstable</em> systems as this might bring unexpected
behaviour and remove packages without notice.
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-aptproxy">9.6 I have several machines how can I download the updates only one time?</h2>

<p>
If you have more than one Debian machine on your network, it is useful to use
<code>apt-proxy</code> to keep all of your Debian systems up-to-date.
</p>

<p>
<code>apt-proxy</code> reduces the bandwidth requirements of Debian mirrors by
restricting the frequency of Packages, Releases and Sources file updates from
the back end and only doing a single fetch for any file, independently of the
actual request it from the proxy.  <code>apt-proxy</code> automatically builds
a Debian HTTP mirror based on requests which pass through the proxy.
</p>

<p>
For more details, see the apt-proxy homepage at <code><a
href="http://apt-proxy.sourceforge.net/">http://apt-proxy.sourceforge.net/</a></code>
</p>

<p>
Of course, you can get the same benefit if you are already using a standard
caching proxy and all your systems are configured to use it.
</p>

<hr>

<p>
[ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">previous</a> ]
[ <a href="index.en.html#contents">Contents</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-basic_defs.en.html">1</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">2</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-choosing.en.html">3</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">4</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-software.en.html">5</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-ftparchives.en.html">6</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">7</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">8</a> ]
[ 9 ]
[ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">10</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">11</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-support.en.html">12</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-contributing.en.html">13</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-redistrib.en.html">14</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-nexttime.en.html">15</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html">16</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">next</a> ]
</p>

<hr>

<p>
The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
</p>

<address>
version 8.0ubuntu1, 29 December 2015<br>
<br>
Authors are listed at <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors">Debian FAQ Authors</a><br>
<br>
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